Week 17 Results

MLB TALK
• Zack Greinke was certainly the biggest chip to move at the trade deadline but over the weekend it was the Astros other pitching acquisition that made a big impact. Aaron Sanchez struggled all season for the Toronto Blue Jays but in his first start as a member of the Astros he threw six no hit innings before turning the game over to his bullpen (Will Harris, Joe Biagini, and Chris Devenski) to finish off the Seattle Mariners. Will Sanchez be their next Gerrit Cole? We’ll find out soon enough.

• Speaking of no-hitters, the Angels’ Felix Pena, who’s 7 strong innings was at the center of the team’s emotional no-hitter following the sudden death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs, tore his ACL this past week and will be out the rest of the season and almost certainly a chunk of the 2020 season as well.

• In one surprising post-deadline move, the Braves outrighted Kevin Gausman off of their roster where he was swiftly claimed by the Cincinnati Reds. Gausman has always been looked at as a very talented arm ever since he was drafted by the Orioles but he’s never fully pitched to the level people thought he was capable of. While he’s struggled this year, advanced metrics paint a somewhat rosier photo of his performance though whether that translates to results in Cincinnati remains to be seen.

• The ever lowly Marlins have gone ahead and called up one of their most promising prospects, second baseman Isan Diaz. Diaz came to them from Milwaukee in the Christian Yelich trade not long ago. While Lewis Brinson was considered the main prize of that deal, he’s yet to solve major league pitching and Diaz’s prospect stock has only continued to rise (he’s regularly been rated among the top 100 prospects in baseball this year).

• Going the other way, Phillies 3B Maikel Franco. Philadelphia decided that the leash had run out on the former top prospect and sent him back to AAA after close to 4 years with him installed as their starting 3rd baseman. Franco has tremendous power but has not lived up to the promise he showed back in 2015 during his first taste of the big leagues.

What’s on your mind this week everyone?